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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24519487">it's going to be all right</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnluckiestFridays/pseuds/UnluckiestFridays'>UnluckiestFridays</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Regeneration, i guess</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:27:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,321</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24519487</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnluckiestFridays/pseuds/UnluckiestFridays</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor receives a distress signal on her psychic paper and follows it to a damp alleyway in New York. What she finds is completely unexpected.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>67</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>it's going to be all right</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Does this count as Canon divergence? Or a fix-it? Idk, but I've tagged it as that anyway</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Doctor hissed as a sharp, burning pain erupted in her side. She quickly dug a hand in her coat pockets and pulled out her psychic paper which had clearly received a message. </p><p>"What is it?" Ryan asked as she flipped open the paper.</p><p>A frown marred her face as she read the message, once, twice, and then a final time. It was certainly a distress signal, that she couldn't deny, but not one she'd ever gotten before.</p><p><em>I'm scared </em>the message read along with a string of coordinates at the bottom right corner of the paper. The Doctor recognised the coordinates as somewhere on Earth. </p><p>"Distress signal," she told Ryan. </p><p>"Are we going to answer it?" Graham questioned, though she knew he knew the answer. </p><p>"Of course," she replied then put the psychic paper back in her pocket. </p><p>She inputted the coordinates to the console and then pulled the lever, quickly beginning to pilot her ship to their destination.</p><p>She had no idea who or what had sent the message to her psychic paper, or what was even strong enough to get the message to her in the first place, but she knew that whoever it was, she would help them.</p><p>When the TARDIS landed, she did a quick check on the monitor for where they'd landed and noticed that they were in New York. </p><p>Double checking she had her sonic on her, she ran to the doors, fam following behind her, and threw them open.</p><p>She found herself stepping out into an alleyway a second later. It was dark, just like the rest of the city at whatever time they'd landed in, and smelled a bit like trash which was to be expected.</p><p>The sound of clanking bottles could be heard from just up ahead of her and she shot her fam a look, telling them to be quiet, then lead the way down the alleyway, following the noise.</p><p>Talking met her ears, quiet though they weren't whispers. They were tentative, almost exhausted. One she recognised as the voice of a little girl and the other sounded like a man. </p><p>Her confusion grew as she made her way closer, hoping to understand what was going on and what had brought her and her fam to New York. </p><p>"I'm scared," the Doctor heard the girl whimper.</p><p>She had to be the one who'd sent the message, the Doctor deduced. Perhaps unknowingly. </p><p>Golden light lit up the walls just a bit further down the alleyway and the Doctor's hearts leapt in her chest. The unmistakable sound of running feet met her ears and she knew that the man from a moment ago had run away.</p><p>She wouldn't, though. Whoever this girl was, she needed help. She was afraid and she needed help.</p><p>Steeling herself, the Doctor strode forward down the rest of the alleyway and found who she was looking for. Hidden partially by a dumpster was a little girl wearing raggedy clothes that seemed to hang off of her limbs. She was worryingly thin. </p><p>The golden glow was undoubtedly coming from the girl, though she wasn't facing them. She was looking down at her hands which were coated with what was definitely regeneration energy. </p><p>"Hello? Are you all right?" The Doctor attempted to get the girl's attention, nerves fluttering in the pit of her stomach. </p><p>The girl lifted her head and turned around to face the Doctor and her friends. Her messy hair was plaited either side of her head and her face was caked with dirt just like the rest of her.</p><p>"I don't know what's going on," the girl said honestly, brows scrunched in confusion and fear.</p><p>"Doc, what's happenin' to her?" Graham whispered from just behind her, concern evident in his voice. </p><p>The Doctor held a hand out, silently telling him to be quiet for a moment.</p><p>"It's okay. You're okay" she told the girl as she crouched down in front of her, meeting her at eye level, "what's your name? Can you tell me that?"</p><p>The girl seemed to hesitate for a second before nodding and answering.</p><p>"Melody," she said.</p><p>The Doctor's hearts almost stopped in her chest. Of course. It all made sense now. No ordinary child would have been able to get a message all the way across the universe, through the TARDIS' shields, and to her psychic paper.</p><p>Words from long ago echoed in the back of her mind, <em>last time I did this I ended up a toddler in New York.</em></p><p>Of course<em>.</em></p><p>No matter what happened next, the Doctor knew she couldn't leave Melody. She owed it to the girl for all the trouble she had ever been put through by both the Silence and herself.</p><p>"Just Melody?" She prompted, though she knew the answer.</p><p>"Melody Pond," Melody told her.</p><p>"Melody Pond. That's a lovely name. Like a name in a fairytale," the Doctor quoted old words if only to see the sheepish smile that flashed across Melody's face.</p><p>"What's happening to me?" Melody asked and then there was the unmistakable sight of fat tears welling in her eyes that made the Doctor's hearts clench painfully. "It hurts. I'm scared."</p><p>"It's okay, Melody," the Doctor reassured her, "it's okay. You're regenerating. You'll be fine, I promise."</p><p>"What's regenerating? Why does it sound so familiar?" Melody sniffled.</p><p>Not for the first time, the Doctor felt a surge of hatred for the creatures of the Silence and Madame Kovarian. She pushed it down, though, in favor or calming Melody and helping her through this confusing process.</p><p>"It means you're going to change," the Doctor said.</p><p>"I don't want to change," Melody said with the same stubbornness that clearly followed her into future regenerations.</p><p>"It's okay. Changing isn't a bad thing. You'll be all right, I promise, and I never break my promises, right fam?"</p><p>There was immediate confirmation from her friends who were most likely watching with confusion.</p><p>"Who are you?" Melody whispered. It was obvious now that she was fighting the regeneration process, whether she realised it or not.</p><p>There was no telling what Melody would do if she learned who the Doctor really was. She'd been brainwashed from an extremely young age to hate, to fear, the Doctor.</p><p>"A friend," she told Melody, "you can call me Jane."</p><p>She felt the confusion from her friends radiating off of them, but she didn't turn.</p><p>"Will you stay with me?" Melody asked.</p><p>"Of course," the Doctor confirmed, "always."</p><p>The Doctor straightened up and took a step back, giving the girl some space.</p><p>"You have to regenerate now, Melody," the Doctor told her gently.</p><p>Melody sniffled and nodded, looking back to her glowing hands.</p><p>"It's okay. It'll be over soon, I promise, and I'll be here the entire time."</p><p>Those final words seemed to comfort Melody and without any further words spoken, the girl exploded into a ball of beautiful golden light. The ringing emitting from it almost drowned out the screams beneath it, but to the Doctor's displeasure, she could still hear the pain.</p><p>Almost as soon as it had begun, it ended and in Melody's place was a toddler, swamped in clothes miles too big for her and looking around with confusion. This was unmistakably young Mels, the Ponds' childhood best friend.</p><p>"What just happened?" Yaz's voice drew her out of her thoughts.</p><p>"She regenerated," the Doctor explained simply.</p><p>"But I thought only your people could do that," Ryan said, "wait... is she?"</p><p>The Doctor made a face, considering her answer for a second.</p><p>"Kind of," she tried, "anyway, let's get her home."</p><p>"And where is home for her? No offense, Doc, but it kinda looked like she was homeless," Graham pointed out.</p><p>"She was," the Doctor said.</p><p>"Was?"</p><p>"Okay, it's complicated, but we need to get her to Leadworth."</p><p>With those words and thankfully no more questions from her fam, the Doctor stepped forward and took little Mels into her arms. </p>
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